This second entry in Overlord's light novel series was directly adapted into episodes 5-9 of last year's anime version. If the first arc described Ainz and the Lost Tomb of Nazarick's transition to the new world, this arc represents their first serious effort to go out and explore it. That doesn't necessarily mean that the pace has picked up, but it does mean that Ainz's obsession with planning is much more evened out by more widespread action and broader world-building.

For those who are following the story first through the novels, this volume significantly expands the scope of the story by adding the outlying city of e-Rantel to the mix, though it does also include a return to Carne. Both locations explore the accidental consequences of Ainz being casual in handing out so-called "minor" magic items. In general, he continues to vastly underestimate how much of an impression his actions make, while vastly overestimating the potential power of anything that might be opposition to him in the future. The introduction of the Swords of Darkness allows for him to reminisce about his own days with trusted companions, while the introduction of Clémentine and Khajit provide worthy short-term villains. We also haven't seen the last of Brita, the adventurer who gets her potion bottle smashed by Momonga.

For those who have seen the anime series at least up through episode 9, it's a reasonably tight adaptation of the novel, trimming down some dialog exchanges and little details while eliminating a lot of Ainz's introspection, especially as it relates to his real-world job, but no significant scenes have been entirely cut. In fact, the only real difference – albeit a big one – is that the anime version strongly implies that one of the Swords of Darkness is actually a woman disguised as a man, while the original novel doesn't or at least dodges the issue, unless perhaps some pronoun translation issues are involved. Frankly, I prefer the anime's approach, as it adds a whole new dimension to certain comments made during an otherwise innocuous camping scene. This isn't a change with any lasting consequences, however. Seeing how the vocal effort by Aoi Yūki as Clémentine reflects her unusual speech pattern from the novel is also interesting.

Beyond that, probably the main reason to read the novel if you've already seen the anime is for greater detail about historical figures in the setting. This gives a greater sense that The Lost Tomb of Nazarick's transition to this world may not have been a singular event, with other transitions being spread out over the course of centuries. The book also emphasizes the game-like aspect of the setting a little more than the anime does.

On the technical front, author Kugane Maruyama avoids the most noxious trap of Japanese light novel style: creating redundancies by describing what was going on in the scene after all of the unattributed dialog. However, his writing style still remains very casual and conversational, and either his writing or the translation results in some awkward and/or redundant phrasing, such as “magical-magic.” (There has to be a better way to differentiate faith-based from non-faith-based magic.)

As with the first novel, the second gets the deluxe release treatment. It's in hardback with a vividly colored artwork over a black cover. The same can also be said for the trifold, double-sided illustration inside the front cover and single-page illustrations ones used as chapter headings. The book ends with character profiles for three established and one new Nazarick, followed by a two-page Afterword where Maruyama points out that this is an uncommon “save the boy” rather than “save the girl” scenario.

The novel ends on the same cliffhanger as episode 9 of the anime version, and advertisements at the end further clarify that the third novel will be the source material for the final anime arc. Overall, the story being told is solid and finds a reasonable way to portray Ainz as being cautious despite his great power, while setting up developments which will doubtless have repercussions down the line. If you like your pacing more deliberate and don't mind a protagonist who takes some actions that could certainly be considered evil, you should find a lot to enjoy here.